Konoha Demons
by Sharkpups24
Summary: Tenten has always been seen as a normal kunoichi. But what if there was more than one demon container in Konoha? NejiTen
1. Chapter 1: Cai Zhi

This is my first fan fiction soo... let's see how it goes. 

Summary: Tenten has always been seen as a normal kunoichi. But what if Naruto wasn't the only demon container in Konoha?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did Sasuke wouldn't be a bastard and Sakura would be stonger.

_' Tenten' _- thoughts

**'Tenten'**- Demons, Inner selves etc.

* * *

**Tenten and the 8- tailed dragon**

Normal. That was the only word to desribe Tenten, of course excluding her unhealthy obsession with weapons. She had no bloodline limit like Sakuke's Sharingngan or clan signature jutsu like Ino's Mind Body Transfer Jutsu. What she did have though was her 100 accuracy and a hidden power she didn't realize she had until that fateful day 2 years ago...(A/N for all who MUST know, everyone is 15 in this story)

Flashback:  
(Tenten's POV)  
It was like any average training day, Gai-sensei and Lee-kun were running 500 laps around Konoha while Neji-kun and I sparred with each other. As usual, I threw hundreds of my precious weapons at him only for them to be repelled by his Hakkesho Kaiten. After running out of them (A/N gasp! she ran out? How's that possible!?) we went to hand-to-hand combat, Neji using his gentle fist while I tried to dodge when out of the blue:

**'Is that all the boy can do? Tsk, tsk. I know several ninja that could kick his ass in their sleep!'** A strong, almost purring female voice exclaimed.

_'OMG! Who the heck are you!?'_ thought Tenten, not used to talking to herself.

**'I'm Cai zhi(1), otherwise known as the eight-tailed dragon demon at your service,'** the voice replied.

_' Woah hold everything! I have a demon inside of me all of a sudden? Just like that kid Naruto?'_ Tenten asked.

**'Well I can't say it was sudden because I've been sealed inside of you for 13 years by your mother. Even I don't know why I can talk to you now. What I can say is from silent observations, I have long ago realized that my youngest brother, the nine- tailed fox, has been sealed as well into that boy. Hehehe, they are both extremely alike without noticing themselves.'** chuckled Cai zhi.

_'My...mother? Well that explains what happened to her and why I can hardly remember her. What about my father?'_ Tenten inquired.

**'As much as I would like to continue chatting with you, it seems that you've forgotten about that Hyuga boy'** Cai zhi pointed out.

At that moment I snapped back to reality only to see Neji standing in front of me, calling my name and waving his hand in front of my face.

"TENTEN" he yelled. (A/N Wow, that was very OOC 0.o)

" Huh? What's going on?" I asked him.

" Are you feeling okay? Maybe you shouldn't come to training if you're going to space out like that," the stonic prodigy stated coldly. I could've sworn there was a hint of concern in his voice...

End of Flashback:  
(normal POV)

Today, the day of Tenten's first conversation, will also be the beginning of an epic story that will alter her life forever...

* * *

A/N : Wow I'm proud of how this intro came out. The more reviews I get the faster I post these chapters up but I'll need about a week to figure out how I'll continue. Remember: REVIEW!  
- Sharkpups24 


	2. Chapter 2: Atatsuki

A/N:Thank you to all those that reviewed and sorry on the slight mix up on the number of tails. So the story will now be called Tenten and the Eight- tailed Dragon.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.I do, however own 'Summoning: Call of the eight dragons'

**'Tenten'**- Demons, Inner selves etc.  
_'Tenten'_- Thoughts

* * *

** Chapter 2: Atatsuki**

It was a bright, sunny day in Konoha, which seemed to boost everyone's energy and in Lee and Gai's case, 'youthfulness'. Even Neji, seemed more energized today as he began to spar with Tenten...

Leaping with ease, Tenten took up her refuge in the trees while Neji activated his Byakugan and got into his defensive stance, anticipating an attack. Not being one to disappoint, a barrage of weapons flew out of all directions, edges glinting with deadly accuracy.

" Hakkesho Kaiten!" Neji cried out. As soon as he did, a blue shield of chakra surrounded his body, deflecting each and every weapon thrown at him.

**'Now's a good time to test out that new tecnique I taught you.'** Cai zhi advised.

_'Okay, here goes nothing.'_ Tenten took out a unique scroll with royal blue dragons on each end. Making a few rapid hand signs she bit her thumb to make it bleed, then ran it the length of the scroll.

" Summoning: Call of the Eight Dragons!" she yelled.

Eight dragons 'poofed' in front of her, each with a different marking and colour, stared at her intently, waiting for an order. As if having communicated through their minds, the dragons nodded and one of them, with gold scales and sapphire eyes, stood in the middle of the circle the other seven created. Raising their tails, the dragons on the circle began to hum deeply while the one in the middle aimed its snout towards Tenten, as Neji stopped spinning stopped spinning. Opening its mouth, it breathed out ligtning bolts, that resembled weapons which Tenten threw effortlessly towards Neji. As though expecting that, he activated his hakkesho kaiten which was his worst mistake, because they weren't aimed towards him exactly. When they came into contact with the ground, they exploded and sent shockwaves of electricity along the ground, shocking even Neji. Suddenly, he stopped spinning and collasped, paralyzed by the bolts.Tenten leaped down from the trees when the dragons 'poofed' back to wherever they came from and placed her kunai at his neck.

"I win" she declared.

"Hn," the oh-so-talkative prodigy said after the temperary paralysis wore out.

"Hey give me a break here, it's not everyday that I beat you in one of our sparring matches" Tenten huffed.

"..." Sighing, Neji mumbled, "good job Tenten-chan." To top it all off he had a hint of a blush on his face ( gasp!). Sadly, Tenten was so ecstatic about her winning, she missed it. But that's not the only thing she missed...

* * *

"Itachi! Kisame! Yeah" Deidara yelled. "Leader wants you two, yeah!"

"We heard you, we're coming!" Kisame yelled back.Walking to the leader's room, they kneeled down as their leader looked down upon them.

"It seems that you have much trouble capturing the nine- tailed fox that resides in Konoha..." he began, (Itachi winced at that, his pride still hurt from that failed mission.) " So to make things easier, I'm assigning you a recently discovered demon instead.The eight-tails, a dragon demon, is located in the body of a young kunoichi named Tenten, who lives in Konoha. Bring her back here alive so we can test her abilities and make her one of us."

"Shouldn't we just extract the demon and be rid of her?" Kisame asked.

"True, that would be easier, however, she seems to be extremely tough as Zetsu-san saw with his own eyes. She also has an unnatural ability with weapons that could be very useful for assasinations and the like. If we can get her to join us, we can train her to be unmatched by anyone except us, also we can use her to lure the nine-tails here." the leader expained.

"Like hitting two birds with one stone" Itachi muttered.

"Exactly, now go!" Leader ordered.

"Hai," Itachi and Kisame answered as they 'poofed' out of there towards Konoha.

* * *

A/N: Ohh. Things are starting to heat up in Konoha! What will happen to Tenten and the gang handle this? I'm glad I could get this done earlier. Thaks to reviewers: polarbearpaws, BadTenten and Paralizing-Ninja! 


	3. Chapter 3: Houses and fireballs pt1

A/N: Thanks for all of your reviews. I'm glad that people are reading and enjoying this.Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do own each dragon Tenten summons though. 

**'Tenten'**- Demons, Inner selves etc.

_'Tenten'_- Thoughts

* * *

** Chapter 3: Houses and fireballs! Part 1  
**

Itachi and Kisame reached the gates of Konoha by dawn the next day. Knocking out the guards, they entered the village looking for the bun-haired weapon mistress. According to Zetsu, she lived alone somewhere in the outskirts of Konoha to the west, in a small townhouse with three kunai slashes marking the door.( Why they were there, well let's just say when she became a ninja at age twelve, the training grounds weren't the only place she had target practise, that poor messenger is still traumatized to this day...) Thinking that was the best place to start, they headed over to her house...

* * *

Meanwhile, Tenten just left for her early-morning training when she got this funny feeling in the pit of her stomach while walking to the training grounds. 

_' Did you feel that?'_ Tenten asked.

**' Feel what?' **Cai zhi wondered.

_' It's...It's nothing I just have a strange feeling that something exciting will happen today'_ she replied.

**'Are you sure it's not just a certain emotion towards a certain Hyuga?'** Cai zhi teased.

She could feel the heat rising up to her cheeks._'Wh-What? I don't know what your talking about'_ answered Tenten.

**' Please, spare me the details! I know your infatuated with Neji-kun, and I must say, your taste in men is great.' **Cai zhi retorted.

'_ Shut up!'_ shrieked a very red Tenten.

**' Your only denying yourself Ten, everyone knows you love that boy, except himself of course. Besides we're here, so you might want to get rid of your blush'** Cai zhi advised.

Tenten cooled her face off, making her return to her normal skin tone. Even though she was training was by herself, she would never hear the end of it if Gai or Lee saw her and started talking about her ' blossoming love'. Taking out her weapons, she warmed up with weapon throwing, each one hitting the target in the center as usual. After around 15 minutes, she put her weapons away and took out her summoning scroll while making hand signs except this time, she summoned only one of the eight dragons. This one, had brilliant red scales with diamonds embedded into each one, its eyes were a dark yellow and had a scar running from the left ear to the snout.

"Are you ready?" Tenten asked. The dragon nodded." Very well, let's begin" she replied.

The dragon took flight into the air, opened its mouth and released several fist-sized fireballs aimed at Tenten. Whipping out a kunai, she did a series of acrobatics, slicing each fieball in half, making them disappear. Next, the dragon unleashed a few more in different directions, each destroyed by Tenten Nodding its head, it inhaled and breathed out several hundred more at a rapid pace. Summoning two kanatas, Tenten took each fireball out at a much faster rate eliminating each one before they hit the ground. Once she finished, the dragon blew over a thousand of these fireballs at her. Tenten took out two scrolls and preformed Rising Twin Dragons throwing an array of weapons aimed at the falling fireballs hitting five at a time. Once those disappeared, the dragon landed, gave a toothy grin to Tenten and 'poofed' away. Looking up into the sky, she saw that she had roughly three hours to restore her chakra before training. So jumping to the highest branch of her favourite tree, Tenten sat down and nodded off to catch up on a few hours of sleep.

* * *

Reaching the girl's house, Itachi and Kisame opened the unlocked door. Bad idea. At that instant, a dozen kunai flew from inside with explosive tags. The only way to dodge them was to either step to the side or fall down the steps behind them, either way, if they didn't move fast, well, let's just say that wouldn't be very nice. So, they side-stepped to the left, both paleing at the ominous clicking sound heard when moving there. Ducking down, to avoid being decapitated by a swinging sythe, they bolted inside towards the stairs, dodging senbons, kanatas, shirukins and other weapons of mass destruction flung their way. Jumping into what seems to be Tenten's room, Itachi collasped on the bed while Kisame just plain collasped from exhaustion. 

" Man -pant- what -pant- is with this kid? She's -pant- insane! I mean who booby traps their entire house anyways!?" Kisame wheezed, "She's only what?15?"

" We should definitely train more if these traps wear us out so much," Itachi panted," if that girl does join us, it definitely would be interesting, especially with Deidara around. It's a good thing that our headquarters can easily be repaired because they'll destroy it faster than you can say missing-nin"

"Agreed, That kid better be in here or we' ve just wasted quite a bit of energy for nothing." Kisame replied.

Itachi got up, "Well that seems to be the case, or she would have shown up already from the rukus." he said,

"Damn, I guess we have to go to spot number two: the training grounds now..." Kisame muttered, "But let's rest a bit before we go". With those words they fell back down and took a small nap...

2 hours later...

Feeling fully energized, Itachi and Kisame exited the townhouse and headed north, towards the training grounds while trying to sense some unusual chakra, signaling the demons presence**(1)**. Looking around, they sensed that particular chakra nearby, somewhere probably in a tree. Nodding to each other, they lept into the trees only to find a sleeping Tenten. Itachi smirked triumphantly at Kisame, thinking their mission was going easier than planned. Unknown to them, a pair of white eyes were watching their every move.

Flashback:

Yawning, Neji woke up an hour earlier than usual, so, since going back to sleep would be close to impossible, he decided to head over to Team Gai's training grounds to meditate for a while. As he was walking there, he was having an argument with his inner self.

**' Just tell her already, I mean what harm could it do?'** Neji's inner self inquired.

_' Hn'_ Neji 'replied'.

**' Argh! Don't you know 'hn' is not a word? Besides, everyone knows you like Tenten already, just tell her!'**

**'Well?' **'his inner asked hopefully.

_'...Hn'_

**' I hate you'**

Neji smirked,_' So I've been told.'_

**' Well, at least I don't say '...' or 'hn' all the time.' **Inner Neji smirked.

**'Ha! See what I me-'**

_' Shut up, something's not right here'_ Neji interupted,_' look.'_

About four yard's distances away, two figures lept across the field, both wearing the same black with red cloud coats. Hiding his chakra, Neji snuck behind them and darted into the trees to see what they were doing. Seeing them smirk set off alarms in his head. Even more so to see that they were approaching the tree where Tenten always hung out at. But it wasn't the tree that Neji was worried about, it was the girl sleeping in it.

* * *

A/N: I'm going to split this chapter into two pieces because 1. I want to think about how to improve, well, you'll see and 2. Today is my birthday and to celebrate this chapter is to come out! 

**(1)** The Atatsuki are specialized in locating demon containers. Almost anyone wouldn't be able to figure the difference unless they looked really hard.

Thanks to reviewers:

Yuri Muroku  
Princess-Daisy0  
Paralizing-Ninja


	4. Authors Note: Sorry!

A/N: I'm sorry to say that part 2 of 'Houses and Fireballs' will come a bit late because my computer broke down and will probably be fixed in about a week or so. Right now I'm using a friend's computer but as soon as it's fixed, I'll add the next chapter. 

Sorry again!


	5. Chapter 3 part 2

A/N: Thanks for waiting, I posted this the fastest I could. It helps that I had this entire thing written down on paper already. Well, here's the long-anticipated second part of 'Houses and fireballs':

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

'**Tenten'**- Demons, Inner selves etc.

'_Tenten' _– Thoughts

* * *

**Houses and Fireballs part 2**

'**Tenten' **Cai zhi said.

'…'

'**Tenten!'**

'…_zzz…'_

'**TENTEN WAKE UP!!' **

Tenten woke with a start, but she didn't open her eyes, _'Huh? What's going on?'_

'**We have guests, two of them, one that looks like a giant fish and one that looks like an Uchiha' **she informed.

'_An Uchiha and a fish man…OMG! Itachi and Kisame from the Atatsuki!'_ Tenten tensed up upon realization.

'**You mean that group that captures demons and removes them from their container?' **Cai zhi asked.

'_Yeah, we better brace ourselves, things will probably get really ugly really soon.' _Tenten advised.

'**Agreed, but they don't know you're awake yet. We have the element of surprise on our side.'**

'_Yeah. Hey, do you know what they're doing now?'_

'**It seems that they are approaching you right now'**

'_Okay, Operation: Take down Itachi and Kisame has begun!'_

* * *

Meanwhile…

'**What are we going to do!? If we don't do something soon they'll get to her!' **panicked Inner Neji.

'_Simple, we get Tenten away from them.'_

'**Easy for you to say, these are S-ranked criminals we're dealing with here.'**

'_Hn'_

'**Whatever it's your funeral.'**

Neji made a clone of himself and made him step out into the open. While Kisame dealt with the clone, Neji snuck beside Tenten but Itachi didn't notice because of his bad eyesight. However, Neji didn't expect to see Tenten already awake looking at him.

"What are you doing here!?" She harshly whispered.

"I came to help you now let's get out of here," He replied.

"Not so fast! Tenten, be a good little kunoichi come with us." Itachi demanded, Kisame had finished with the clone a while back and came over.

"Not with the likes of you fiends!" Tenten retorted.

"I guess it's the hard way then." Kisame sighed.

Tenten leapt to another tree and began to throw her many weapons at the pair, who dodged easily. Neji began hand-to-hand combat with Itachi, using his Byakugan so he didn't have to look in his sharingan.

"Water Release: Water Shark Missile Jutsu!" Kisame yelled.

A large body of water appeared in the form of a shark. Tenten threw a kunai with an explosive tag into the beast's mouth, making it explode. Kisame used this distraction to sneak up behind her and throw her at the tree beside it. Landing on her side, Tenten figured that she broke a rib or two upon impact.

* * *

'_We have to end this soon.'_

'**Let me take over, it will only take a few minutes'**

'_Sure, be careful though.'_

Tenten's form hunched over, Kisame, Itachi and Neji tensed up. Something strange was going on. At that, Tenten's hands became clawed and her form had a slight tinge of deep forest green. Her ears sharpened and a long, scaly tail appeared. Her normal chocolate brown eyes became reptilian like and coloured a deep gold and her teeth sharpened and lengthened to have her two canines sticking out. Finally, Tenten gained a muzzle with two almost feathery whiskers at the end on each side of her snout. She let out a deep- throated growl and lunged at Kisame. That seemed to snap everyone out of it, because as this happened, Itachi and Neji began to attack each other again, as Kisame began to dodge Tenten's strikes.

* * *

Itachi realized that he had to finish this soon, time was running out! So rapidly making hand seals he yelled:

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

A large fireball erupted from his mouth, scorching everything in sight. Neji was forced to jump to another tree so he wouldn't get hit. Using this to his advantage Itachi threw a kunai at Neji in midair giving him no room to avoid it. It hit Neji's arm at a joint, making his taijutsu impossible and rendering him temporarily useless. He used this temporary paralysis to capture Neji in one of his stronger genjutsus, but not as powerful as his Mangekyo Sharingan because he was getting weary and he had to go help out his struggling partner.

* * *

Kisame, on the other hand was having a lot more trouble with the transformed Tenten. Dodging left, right and center, he made rapid hand signs once more.

"Water Release: Aquatic Shockwave Jutsu!" he hollered.

Kisame opened his mouth and water came rushing out, turning their formerly dry battlefield into a massive lake. Tenten took out her favourite scroll and proceeded to summon and throw some of her many sharp and pointy objects of destruction at him. Taking out Samehada** (1)**, he blocked all of the weapons thrown and swung his own sword at Tenten, only slightly grazing her but taking out a good portion of her chakra with it. Growling once more, Tenten's arms glowed with a constantly changing coloured aura as she ran again at Kisame finally managing a powerful blow strong enough to blow him back and knock him out which would have to have been **really **strong. Itachi then appeared beside the now unconscious Kisame and slung his huge arm around his shoulder.

"We'll be leaving for now, but rest assured we will be back. Until then I will inform you that the Atatsuki is looking for a new member to join our ranks. We can help you master your demon powers and make you more powerful than any other kunoichi in this village. Consider this offer as this could help you gain respect and power throughout the entire five nations. If you do accept we will contact you for further details." Itachi declared. With that, the Atatsuki partners disappeared with a 'poof'.

'**It is safe now, you can come control your body now' **Cai zhi announced.

'_Yeah, okay…' _Tenten was in deep thought about their offer and what it may mean.

When she became her normal self again, she summoned the fire-breathing dragon once more to quickly dry the grounds before anyone noticed it was wet. After the grounds were somewhat back to normal, she noticed that Neji was still missing. Finding him in one of the trees under a genjutsus, she released him from the illusion and treated his wounded arm. Once Tenten was finished, they went to the grounds and sat down, Neji facing Tenten.

"Okay Tenten," Neji started, "you have a lot of explaining to do."

* * *

A/N: Well? I hoped you liked it!

**(1):** It's that giant sword thing that Kisame always carries called "shark-skin" or something.

Thanks to reviewers:

almostinsane

NejixTenten forever

punkrocker22

a-little-crazy

Chica-anime 4ever

xTxNxLx

Mizu-Kaze Hana


	6. Chapter 4: The Mission

A/N: Back again with Chapter 4! Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

'**Tenten'**- Demons, Inner selves etc.

'_Tenten'_- Thoughts

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Mission**

Tenten sighed,_ 'This is going to be hard to explain'_

'**We'll see. They were going to find out eventually. Better now than later.' **Cai zhi shrugged.

"Well...umm…you see…I-"

"NEJI! TENTEN! MY YOUTHFUL STUDENTS!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON SUCH A YOUTHFUL DAY!!!??" Gai interrupted with a good guy pose and a ping.

'**Where's that other green fellow? The one that looks like Gai-sensei's double?'**

Cai zhi wondered.

As you may already know: Speak of Konoha's green beasts and they shall appear.

"GAI-SENSEI YOU ARE SO YOUTHFUL" Lee shouted.

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

They hugged and that sunset background appeared causing Neji and Tenten to sweatdrop.

'_I've never been so thankful for their umm…youthful man-hugs' _She thought.

'_What was she going to say? I'll ask her again later.'_ Neji decided.

"Today my youthful students, we have a new mission so we will go to the Hokage Tower" Gai stated.

"Hai," the three said in unison, heading towards the building.

When they got there, they found a drunken Tsunade asleep at her desk. So Lee and Gai tried to wake her up while Tenten sweatdropped and Neji gave their Hokage a death glare. Amazingly, that seemed to do the trick as Tsunade shot straight up alarmed.

"Huh!? Where's the fir- oh it's just you guys." Tsunade cleared her throat sobering up immediately, "You must be wondering about your mission yes? Well, you are to go to the Hidden Sand Village to represent Konoha at a festival there. Many important officials will be present so try not to mess up too badly. This is a formal occasion so dress appropriately which means no spandex Lee, Gai." Glaring at Konoha's green beasts, who looked shocked at this. Neji and Tenten shuddered at the traumatizing memory, which included many blinded guests and speeches about youth.

'**Man-kind is not ready for that again' **Inner Neji whimpered from the little corner in Neji's mind,** 'you really should consider redecorating this place, it's so dull and boring' **he mentioned, looking around the room located in his head.

'_Hn'_

**'sigh'**

* * *

'_Looks like we're going back home' _

'**Yeah… we can visit your foster parents while we're there.'**

Tenten sighed mentally to herself. It was so long ago…

_**Flashback:**_

A five year-old Tenten was playing happily in the backyard of her family. She has lived with the old couple for as long as she could remember. Hearing a crash from inside the small house they shared, she went to investigate. So closing the door quietly behind her, Tenten tiptoed into the living room, only to scream in horror. There lay her beloved grandmother, lying face up in a pool of her own blood, eyes wide with shock and a kunai lodged in her throat. Tears steaming down her chocolate brown eyes, she tried to wake up her grandmother, calling her name and shaking her gently, but she would not wake. Another _thud_ came from upstairs, rushing towards the source, she found her grandfather barely clinging to his life and a tall man with a mask on, his headband showed the symbol of the Sand Village.

"Go," her grandfather's dying voice ordered "to The Hidden Leaf Village… You-"he coughed, blood pouring out of his mouth, "will be safe there…" His voice died out altogether along with the remaining life in him.

Looking up to her grandfather then to the ninja, she turned and ran for the door, but was not quick enough. In a millisecond, the man was blocking the door. That is all she remembered before everything went black.

A little later, she woke up in the spot she was standing in; the man's body lay still just like her family. Knowing what was in the other room, she went to her own bed and cried her heart out until she got up and grabbed a large bag. Packing up her most precious belongings, food, clothing, remaining money and whatever else she could scavenge that may come in handy from the house. Finally, before leaving, she took the locket her grandmother always wore and her grandfather's special kunai, along with a picture of the three of them at the fair a year ago. Taking one last look around the silent house, a single tear slid down her cheek as she turned around and headed out of the gates in the dead of night, making sure she was hidden from the guards.

* * *

A week later, Tenten, tired, bloody and hungry, finally reached the gates of Konoha. A chuunin was at the gate when he noticed the helpless child limping towards the gate before collapsing at the entrance. 

"Hey kid, are you okay? Kid? Kid!" the man rushed towards Tenten, checking her pulse and rushing her to the hospital.

At about noon, the Tenten awoke, seeing nothing but white everywhere and voices coming from behind the door. _'Am I alive? Where am I_

"Found her unconscious at the gates covered in blood. Probably an orphan, poor girl," the two people entered the room. The man from the gate and a man with a worn face and the robes similar to the Kazekage's.

"Why hello there little girl, I am the Hokage, leader of this village. What is your name?" the old man asked kindly.

"Ten...ten" she replied.

"Tenten?" That's a pretty name, now do you know what happened to you before you came here?"

Tears fell from her eyes as she explained the ninja, the blood and her grandfather's last words to her. Finishing, the tears eventually subsided and the Hokage remained silent for a long period of time. Looking up he said, "Tenten, you are welcome to stay in our village. We are going to set you up with a foster family until you are at least thirteen years old, then you can move out on your own. You will also enrol into the ninja academy if you want to."

Tenten nodded, if what happened to her happened again, she wanted to be ready. And the rest is history.

_**End Flashback**_

"Hey Tenten, are you okay? You don't look so good." Neji asked with a hint of concern in his voice. They were on their way out of the tower to get ready for the mission the next day.

"Yeah…I'm okay." Tenten answered regaining her usual happy self.

"If you say so,"

'_Neji is being very talkative today'_ she thought.

'**That's because he's worried about you, that's very sweet of him.'** Cai zhi replied.

'_Why would he be though?' _she asked slightly hurt.

'**Because you're his friend right? That and he LOVES you' **the demon erupted in a fit of giggles, making Tenten mentally sweatdrop.

'_How do you know if he does anyways?'_

'**Let's just call it Demon's Intuition'**

'_Sure' _sarcasm leaking in her thoughts.

* * *

'_I hope Tenten's okay,'_ Neji worried. 

'**Is THE Hyuga Neji showing concern towards another human being!?'**

'_Shut up'_

'**You're no fun'**

'_Hn'_

'**Anyways, this festival in the Sand Village is an awesome time to go on a date with her!' **Inner Neji cheered.

'_What!?'_

'**And we can say it's for the mission so she won't find out! But that would be kinda harsh don't you think?'**

'_Wait a min-'_

'**Maybe if we're lucky she'll ask us first or we can try to convince her to…'** Neji's Inner rambled on and on until he snapped.

"SHUT UP ALREADY!" Neji roared.

Tenten looked at him as if he were crazy; anybody passing by did the same. "Uh...Neji? Nobody was talking, are you sure you're okay?"

"Umm… I said that out loud?" he asked. Tenten sweatdropped from his newfound stupidity.

"Yeah…"

"Oops. Ehehehe…" Neji started to laugh nervously.

"Wow, it must be the end of the world as we know it. I mean, THE Hyuga Neji laughing? What are the chances of that?" she wondered, shocked beyond belief, "Neji, go home and rest up for the mission, you are definitely not yourself today."

"But-"

"Don't make me drag you home myself," she threatened. That seemed to snap Neji out of it as he got out of there as physically possible.

'**Nice one idiot' **Inner Neji piped in.

'_You just called yourself an idiot'_

'**Whatever man, keep saying that'**

* * *

A/N: Well there ya go. Thanks to reviewers:

Mizu-Kaze Hana

nejitenfan

PandaGirl1010

Review if you don't mind.


	7. Chapter 5: Fesival preparations

A/N: Thanks to everyone for reviewing and I'm glad so many people liked last chapter. All of your comments are appreciated!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

'**Tenten'**- Demons, Inner selves etc.

'_Tenten'_- Thoughts

* * *

**Chapter 5: Festival Preparations**

The next morning, Team Gai met up at the Konoha gates around 5:00, so they could probably get to the Sand village by nightfall. Leaping off, Neji caught up to Tenten while Gai and Lee sped ahead.

"Tenten, about yesterday morning…" he started.

"Oh yeah, I owe you an explaination right?"

'_Damn, he remembered'_

'**Duh' **

'_You're no help'_ she inwardly scowled.

'**Let's just get this over with hm?' **

'_Agreed.'_

"Well?" Neji asked impatiently.

Tenten sighed, "It's a long story".

"If you haven't noticed we have plenty of time."

"Fine then. It all began two years ago…" she began to tell him all about Cai zhi and how she was the demon's container.

"Understand now?" she asked. Slowly, Neji nodded almost as if seeing Tenten for the first time.

'**It looks like he took that pretty well.'**

'_I know, thank goodness.'_

'**Well he wouldn't really be your best friend and crush if he wasn't.'**

'_Hey! I saw that!'_

'**Saw what?' **Cai zhi feigned innocence.

'… _Never mind.'_

_---------- _

'**Wow, you learn something new everyday.' **

'_I know, who would have thought that Tenten was a tailed-demon container anyways?' _Neji thought

'**Actually the transformation during the battle was kind of a dead giveaway. I mean, remember Gaara?' **

'_Good point.'_

'**And they call you a genius huh?'**

'_Shut the hell up'_

'…'

By the time their inner conversations were over, all four of them reached the familiar gates that lead into the Sand Village. Temari was waiting at the gates for the group to arrive.

"Long time no see," she smirked.

"I know," Tenten smiled back. She wasn't upset that the sand sibling beat her and actually thought of Temari as an older sister.

"We are glad to be here again on happier terms," Gai announced.

"Yes, much better," Temari chuckled, "As you already may know, the festivities will take place in the centre of this village tomorrow night. They will begin at sunset and end at dawn. Feel free to explore the area as you wish. Now I bet you guys are pretty tired so I'll show you where you'll be staying for your mission."

They followed the sand sibling to the hotel, where they got two rooms. Neji, Lee and Gai went into the room with three beds while Tenten and Temari went into another. Closing the door, Temari smiled maliciously at the other kunoichi.

"Ummmm… Temari? Why are you looking at me like that?" Tenten asked nervously.

"One word my friend," the younger paled visibly, "SHOPPING!!!" Without a thought, Temari caught Tenten's wrist in an iron death grip with no chance of escape and proceeded to drag her towards the clothing stores.

"Can I ask why!?"

"BECAUSE, we need to find you a new kimono Tenten! I'll be damned if I let you wear an old one."

"Ugh…Fine."

'**Is she always like this?'**

'_Not always, just before a big event. Besides, I guess I COULD use a new kimono…'_

'**Now that I think about it, I don't think you even own a decent one'**

'_Yeah that would have been a problem.'_ Tenten grinned sheepishly.

'**Well that settles it! To the store!' **Cai zhi cheered.

They arrived at the store, where Temari released Tenten and they began to browse around. Both went into the fitting rooms to try on different outfits. Temari came out in a royal purple halter top with a silver fan design accented with gold on the shoulder, a short faded jean skirt over ankle-length black tights. Tenten came out in an emerald green tank top with a pair of kunais crossed along the front, fishnet sleeves that went down to her elbows and a pair of beige capris. They grinned at each other and purchased the outfits. This continued for several more stores until they hit the one of the best dress shops in town.

Temari glanced at Tenten and once again dragged her into the store. She took several different kimonos and shoved the younger into the fitting room. A steady stream of 'No's and 'Definitely not's filled the air as the pile of kimonos grew. That was, until the sand sibling saw the perfect kimono that even Tenten would love. Silence, and then: "Yes! It's perfect!"

----------

On the way home The Leaf kunoichi suddenly remembered something important 

"What about your kimono Temari?"

"Don't worry about me, I got mine already."

"Really? What's it like?"

"You'll see tomorrow night."

Temari walked off towards her home while Tenten walked in the other direction but she didn't go near the hotel yet. She went to the flower shop they had passed and bought two boquets of long stemmed roses **(1)**. She then walked to the edge of the village, where there was a secluded cemetery. Kneeling down towards two of the older graves, Tenten placed the flowers gently in front of each one. Paying her respects, she took one last look at her foster parents' final resting place and left without turning back.

**Time skip (Tomorrow night):**

Gai, Lee and Neji were patiently waiting for their only female team mate at the entrance of the hotel they were staying at. Gai and Lee were both wearing pale green yukatas with a dark leaf pattern covering it. Neji's yukata was a dark grey with the ying-yang symbol on the left side. The sound of footsteps came from the stairs and they looked towards the noise only to drop their jaws in utter shock. There stood Tenten, dressed in a shimmering silver kimono that flowed like water. A royal blue dragon with eight tails wound around her body with its head resting on her shoulder **(2)**. Her hair was designed in a fancy bun with a few strands shaping her face and a very faint amount of makeup to highlight her features.

"Te- Tenten?" Neji stuttered.

"TENTEN YOU HAVE BLOSSOMED INTO A YOUTHFUL FLOWER!!!!" Gai boomed.

"GAI-SENSEI YOU ARE CORRECT!! TENTEN HAS TURNED INTO A BEAUTIFUL BLOSSOM!!!!!" Lee added.

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!" Sunset background, crashing waves, you know the drill.

The sane members of the team sweatdropped at the randomness of their sensei and team mate. "Okay…Neji let's just leave them alone shall we?" Tenten asked.

"I'd be happy to." The two backed away slowly from their hugging comrades and bolted as fast as possible through the doors.

* * *

Meanwhile… 

"Okay this is a good chance to grab her while she's unguarded. Let's go." Two shadowey figures leapt towards the festival grounds.

* * *

The pair reached the entrance where Temari and Kankuro awaited them. Kankuro was wearing a yukata version of his normal outfit and Temari was dressed in a light purple kimono with several intricate fans covering it.

"Are you ready to go inside?" Kankuro asked. Everyone nodded and walked towards the grounds.

* * *

A/N: That took longer than usual but I'm getting major writer's block so all ideas are appreciated. Plus this week has been chaotic so I find myself with less time to write.

**(1):** Those flowers mean 'I'll remember you always'. Fits the occasion.

**(2):** Thanks to Mizu-Kaze Hana for the idea :D

Thanks to reviewers:

Paralizing-Ninja

inu/naru fangorl

nejitenfan

NejixTenten forever

Dakotarox14

Mizu-Kaze Hana

SagaMoon

me-is-to-lazy-to-sign-on

R&R


	8. Chapter 6: Festival problems

A/N: Busy, busy… Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

'**Tenten'-** Demons Inner selves etc.

'_Tenten'-_ Thoughts

* * *

**Chapter 7: Festival Troubles**

Stalls littered each side of the street, despite the fact that this was to be slightly formal. In the center of it all was a large open stage for different contests and an arena was located for a battle tournament as the festivities go on. Temari and Kankuro stayed by the entrance to greet the guests as they walked by, leaving Neji and Tenten to explore the grounds on their own. However, the two mysterious figures appeared to have entered without being detected. Nodding to each other, they split in search of their target, Tenten…

The pair walked around for a while before going to a few game stalls, where Neji won Tenten a stuffed panda, which she proceeded to hug to death. In return, she got him a cute looking stuffed white tiger. Afterwards they headed towards the food area where they both ate sweet dumplings. Hanging around the stage to watch the singing competition, they relaxed for who knows how long.

'_This is the life'_ Neji thought.

'**Definitely… Watch out!'**

Ducking down, he just barely missed the Samehada by a hair's length. Kisame chuckled and backed away, an unconscious Tenten being held by his partner, Itachi. The duo leapt towards the arena with Neji following closely behind.

"Water Release: Water Shark Missile Jutsu!" The shark formed water charged once again this time, towards Neji.

"Byakugan," it only took a few seconds to destroy the shark with . But those seconds was just enough to distract him long enough for Itachi to hand Tenten over to Kisame and fully activate his Mangekyō Sharingan. Summoning a clone, Itachi sent it to pin Neji down, and looked directly into his eyes, if only for a second. Seeing this completed, Itachi deactivated his Sharingan and escaped with Tenten and Kisame.

* * *

Neji felt like he was being tortured for endless hours. It was the same thing time and time again. All those who were ever close to him died at his feet, and he felt their suffering. There was nothing he could do, so he just watched it all, dying each time they did. Once and a while a sinister version of Tenten would come and pierce him with a barrage of weapons instead. As this happened, he couldn't help but hear a faint growling in the background. Eventually, the growling increased until it was impossible to ignore it. 

'**WAKE UP'**

The effects of the Sharingan wore off and Neji woke with a start. The pain lingered for a short time before ebbing away altogether. That however was not the problem. He never heard that voice before but he felt as if a great weight has been lifted from his shoulders.

'_Who or what was that'_

'**I'd prefer to not be called an 'it' Neji'** the new voice spoke.

'_!'_

Neji had all reason to be shocked at the moment, for he was not at the festival grounds where he should be. For the first time he checked his surroundings only to see a dark, slightly damp room. In the middle of this room stood a massive tiger, its seven tails swung around gently** (1)**. It had snow coloured fur with golden stripes with deep crimson eyes.

'**Don't worry kid, I'm not gonna hurt you**.'

'_May I ask who you are then?'_

'**The name's Kaku, seven-tailed beast, master of all things related to the earth.'**

'_Okay...Can someone tell me what's going on here?'_

He sighed deeply **'Long story short: I was sealed inside you at birth and only when you were in that genjutsu did it loosen enough for me to contact you.'**

'_Hn…We have to go after Tenten'_

'**Not yet. You see, I'm also known as the stealthiest of the tailed demons. Do as I say and we can get her back, but we'll need reinforcements.'**

'_Fine.'_

When Neji came back and told them what had happened, extra guards were put to surround Suna. Temari, Kankuro, Gaara, Lee and Gai left with him in the direction they were heading in. All this while, Kaku was telling Neji what to do when they encounter the Akatsuki.

* * *

Tenten woke up only to find that she was in a dark room with her hands free and not bound. Upon closer investigation, it was a basic room with a desk, a bookshelf a wardrobe and a single bed. All her scrolls and weapons were gone, making her virtually powerless. 

'_Where are we?'_

'**I don't know, but I do know that we were both knocked out by one of the Akatsuki.'**

'_So most likely…'_

'**It's their headquarters.' **Cai zhi concluded.

At that moment, the door opened, but only the silhouette of the figure was visible. "It seems that you have woken up. Come quietly, Leader wants to see you." The male voice announced. Tenten followed him down several hallways before reaching an intricate carved door.

"Come in. Kakuzu, you are dismissed." the doors opened simultaneously as she entered and the man left. "Welcome Tenten."

"How do you know my name?" she asked.

"I know a lot of things," he chuckled, "But my sources are secret. Anyways down to business, I have been notified that you have the eight-tailed dragon demon and we want it. You have two choices: join the Akatsuki or _we take your demon out by force_."

* * *

A/N: I have writer's block so your comments definitely help motivate me. Thanks a lot!

**(1)**- I'm pretty sure that Taku is a blue badger demon but bear with me here. Besides, tigers are cooler :-p

Thanks to reviewers:

WeaponsMistress

nejitenfan

Chica-anime 4ever

Mizu-Kaze Hana

Dakotarox14

Inu/naru fangorl

me-is-to-lazy-to-sign-in


	9. Chapter 7: Headquarters

A/N: I finally have spare time to type this up so here ya go!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

'_Akatsuki'_- Thoughts

'**Akatsuki'**-Demons, inner selves etc.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Shocking Results**

'_What should we do? I can't join them but I'm not crazy about getting you forced out.'_ Tenten panicked.

'**Go with it for now I guess, we'll have more time to think of an escape plan without any damage to ourselves. As we can see, it would be pointless to get away now. We need more time.'** Cai zhi answered.

'_Point taken.'_

She took a deep breath, Leader waiting paitiantly for her reply. "We'll…"

* * *

The ninjas split into two groups when they got to the headquarters. The Sand siblings ran towards the corrider on the left as Team Gai went through the one on the right. Using the Byakugan, Neji searched through each room, only to find every room empty. Noticing his clear discomfort, Lee asked, "What is wrong Neji?" 

"There's no one here," he replied, "which means that either this place has been abandoned or…"

"They know we're here already." Gai finished. This sudden revalation had them going at a much quicker pace.

'**Be on your toes, remember what I told you to do.'**

'_We're close, I can sense her chakra with another. Hang on Tenten.'_

* * *

"do it." Tenten decided.

Leader chuckled once more, "Good decision Tenten. All you have to do now is perform a few…tasks we'll say."

"Tasks?"

"Of course, you didn't really think that we would let you in so easily did you? Don't be too alarmed, with your skill, you'll pass with flying colours." He explained.

"What do I have to do?" Tenten felt that this wasn't going to be as easy as he said.

"All you have to do is…"

* * *

"She's up ahead through that door with another member. Judging by what I can tell, we have not encountered him before. Go inform the others Lee, you're the fastest out of all of us. Gai-sensei, accompany him and go as swiftly and silently. I have an idea." Neji instructed.

As they left, Neji let Kaku take over, giving him slight differences like Tenten's transformed form. This time, he had a striped tail with claws, visible fangs, cat ears and a hint of crimson in his eyes. When finished, Neji began a Kaitan style move, only this time it was narrower and strong enough to go through just about anything. He dug a tunnel right under Tenten's chakra and created a pit-like trap with spikes under the Akatsuki member's chakra. All he had to do now is wait, by the weakened ground underneath, which should collapse right about…now.

Rest assured, it worked perfectly, since Tenten fell right next to him. What happened to the other Akatsuki he does not know. "Geez, you have a really good sense in timing." She exclaimed, before realizing those new features he had. " Neji, you have…a demon?"

'**Wait a minute, he looks familiar…'**

'_Well duh, we train with him every day.'_

'**Not lover boy, the other demon… Oh! It's Taku, my younger brother!'**

'_Taku?'_ she asked, ignoring the previous comment.

'**He's the seven-tailed demon of the Earth, from the look of this, it's probably one of his traps.' **Cai zhi chuckled.

"Let's get out of here before he gets out. I'll explain later." Neji whispered. The pair ran down the hall, towards the awaiting Sand Siblings and Green Beasts.

* * *

Leader watched as his substitution was impaled by thousands of different spikes. _'Interesting, three demons in Konoha hm? This has gotten amusing.' _ He chuckled darkly, "Oh yes, this has definitely gotten more amusing."

* * *

The group was nearing the exit up ahead. Neji had already returned to his normal state and was leading them all. Only when the exit was near did he sense the chakra of a certain clay user and puppet master duo, Deidara and Sasori. 

"Well, well, well. What do we have here, un?"

* * *

A/N: I haven't had much time this month for typing but I'll try and work on as much as I can in the meantime. Thanks to reviewers: 

Mizu-Kaze Hana

nejitenfan

tru-viet

Dakotarox14

sailormarsfire94

kunoichimistress

me-is-to-lazy-to-sign-in

R&R


	10. Chapter 8: So it begins

A/N: This is an early Easter present to you people. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. But I do own the fourth puppet.

'**Kaku'- **inner selves, demons etc.

'_Kaku'-_ thoughts

* * *

**Chapter 8: So It Begins…**

"I don't know about you but I believe we have a couple of spies on our hands," Sasori stated with a bored look on his face.

"You know what we do with spies, un?" Deidara grinned maliciously.

"We'll show you," at this, Sasori and Deidara disappeared, only to be replaced by two puppets. Turning around, the group saw that the hallways they had gone through were blocked by two puppets, including Sasori's Hiruko (the puppet that he always is in). Clay spiders scaled the walls, surrounding them. At a further distance, they could see Deidara creating more clay creatures.

"Don't worry about the puppets by the door. I'll handle them." Kankuro took out four summoning scrolls. In a poof of smoke, out came Karasu, Kuroari, Sanshouo and a bear type puppet. It was massive, standing on its hind legs, poisonous claws and fangs visible. It had spikes all the way own its spine until it reached the tail, a poisoned mace. Kankuro launched the puppets towards the other two, who in turn charged at them.

Temari went over to Tenten and handed her weapon and summoning scrolls that were taken away and a few new ones. "Take these back, you may need them." She ordered.

"My scrolls! Where did you find them?" she asked.

"In one of the rooms."

* * *

**Flashback:**

The siblings sprinted down the hall when something caught Temari's eye. Halting, she went to investigate the room, only to find it filled with hundreds of different weapons, scrolls and other equipment. Taking a closer look with assistance from her brothers, they scanned the room, finding Tenten's scrolls and some more complex weaponry techniques. In the same pile, there were forbidden scrolls from each hidden village and what seemed to be some sort of book. Taking them with them, they continued down the hall.

**End Flashback**

* * *

"Tenten, let's go," Neji and Lee attacked Deidara, once Gaara's sand crushed one of the puppets, effectively cutting off his chakra and breaking his arms. Taking out her scroll, she summoned another dragon. This one, was a dark navy colour with eyes the colour of shimmering light blue crystals. It was slim with leathery wings. There was one steak of gold from the tip of its snout winding down to the tip of its tail. It launched several streams of water, which were molded into kunais **(1)** and thrown by Tenten towards Sasori. He swiped the kunai with Hiruko's tail, only to see it pass right through like water and doubling. Slashing both kunai again, they continued on course only this time, four were aimed at him instead of only one to begin with. Each kunai hit it's target, with an impact harder than steel. Hiruko shattered into several pieces and Sasori was effectively pinned down. 

Kankuro already took down one of the puppets and the other was finished off when his newest puppet sliced it with circular blades attached inside it's chest. "Let's get out of here." They fled out the door back to the Sand Village. They didn't see that Sasori and Deidara poofed into two different ninjas.

"It's about time we headed back to Konoha." Gai stated. The seven of them were at the gates preparing to depart.

"If you are going to leave now, give this to Tsunade." The kazekage ordered, handing them a scroll.

"Come back soon!" Temari waved them off.

'_We have a major problem on our hands if those documents didn't lie.'_ Gaara thought, walking away.

* * *

"The sealing of the four-tails is complete, six more left." Tobi informed Leader. He smirked once more, _Let the games begin._

* * *

A/N: There we go! Happy Easter everyone! 

**(1):** The shape or form of what the dragon fires is based on what Tenten wants it to be.

Thanks to reviewers:

freddy

Phenix Hollowell

sailormarsfire93

kunoichimistress

nejitenfan

10xpandax10

Mizu-Kaze Hana

Dreaming101

tru-viet


	11. Chapter 9: Play your cards right

A/N: Yeah, the last chapter was short, but I think this will work for now.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Holiday

* * *

**Chapter 9: Play your cards right**

Tsunade walked into the tavern and went to a back booth. Ordering some sake, she wore a grave expression on her face. Moments later, Gaara appeared with the tattered book in his hand, and identical expression of dread and worry surrounding him.

"I assume you got my message regarding the Akatsuki correct?" he asked.

"Hai, you said it was critical that I come."

"Let's get down to the point, during the festival, we recovered a few hidden village techniques from each country and this book," he let Tsunade examine it before continuing, "From what we have found, it appears to be the Akatsuki's main plans and motive."

"And what would that motive be?"

"Apparently, there is a specialized jutsu that requires the chakra from nine tailed beasts. It's purpose is unknown. We do know that it was sealed away in a scroll somewhere centuries ago by the first Kages."

"And you believe they are going to find all nine tailed beasts and use them for one jutsu? What could it possibly do?" a frown formed on Tsunade's face.

"There was a drawn diagram in the book, right around the end, look." Tsunade flipped to the back and indeed, there it was.

It looked like a ten-sided star in a circle. At the end of each point were the following symbols **(1)**: Rei, Seiryu, Byakko, Suzaku, Genbu, Kuchin, Nanju, Hokuto, Santai and Gyokunyo. In the middle were nine circles, each a different colour. The very center of that was a brilliant white star.

"What does this mean?"

"I don't know and I don't think we want to find out."

* * *

Neji and Tenten were resting after training, it was a week after the visit to the Sand Village. Gai and Lee were running the usual 500 laps around Konoha. Deciding to take a walk, the two of them began thinking about the festival. 

Tenten giggled as she remembered how much fun it had been to be with Neji without any claims of youth. Cai zhi, being part of her mind, saw this and talked to Kaku about this **(2)**.

'**These two would make such a cute couple, no?'**

'**I agree, you can tell by those secret glances and the fact that he makes sure she always makes it home safely'**

'**I have an idea! Listen to this…'  
**

* * *

Sasori, Deidara, Zetsu and a member by the name of Riko **(3)** were called into Leader's office. He stood there watching the four bow "What did you summon us for?" Riko asked. 

"I have recently found the location of three tailed demons nearby." The four looked up as he continued to speak, "The problem is, the containers are relatively close together so try and grab one and the other two appear. You must find and capture either the seven, the eight or the nine-tails. It would be best if you caught all three at once in an ambush of sorts. I will give you three months to observe, the targets and their battle style, so you may act accordingly. Dismissed." He turned and disappeared.

A little while later, at the entrance of the Akatsuki headquarters, Deidara and Sasori met with Zetsu and Riko. "Here is what we already have on the targets, un," Deidara handed them a manila folder.

After a quick scan, Riko lifted her eyes up, sighed and said, "I have an idea," she took out a kunai and crouched down, drawing something on the ground.

* * *

'**That's awesome! Amature-ish but pretty cool'**

'**Commence mission: Matchmaker!'** with that, Cai zhi began her devious plan.

At the moment, Neji realized that it was getting late, the sun would be setting soon. **'Oi Neji!' **Kaku yelled at him.

'_What do you want?'_ he said, slightly annoyed.

'**You realize you two have been training since dawn up until now right?'**

'_I know that perfectly well.'_

'**And that unlike you, Tenten is probably pretty tired right?'**

'_Just get to the point.'_

'**Fine Mr. Grumpy. If you've been doing this for the past, I dunno, three years, did you ever decide to take her out or something as a token of gratitude for helping you improve?'**

'_Now that I think about it not really…'_ Just great, he now felt incredibly guilty.

'**Well, you should take the rest of the day off and spend time with her ****not**** training. You know, exploring Konoha, watching a movie together maybe dinner…' **

'_I guess so'_

"Tenten?"

She turned towards him, "Yeah?"

"How about we skip training for the rest of the day and do something else?" if you squinted hard enough, you would see him blushing.

Short to say, Tenten was shocked at this offer, as Neji would usually make her spar until well past midnight. She grinned at Neji, "I'd love to!" and began to drag him through Konoha.

Little did Neji know that Kaku was chuckling to himself. **'Hehe, part one: success.' **he muttered while doing a mini victory dance.

* * *

"So you think that they are most likely to come to Konoha?" Tsunade did not like the sound of this. 

"Hai, Naruto only being a small factor. Apparently, from what I know so far, they also targeted Tenten, as shown from the festival." Gaara pondered, he had already told her about the kidnapping. "I believe that she may play an important to their plans."

"But the only reasons they would do that is if either they lost a member and need a weapons mistress or…"

"Tenten has a tailed demon." He finished. "I think we'll need all the information on her we can get and look into it."

"That would be a problem I'm afraid." The Hokage mentioned, "We have absolutely no records of her origin or who her guardians are or were. She came from outside the village at an early age."

'_Now that I think about it…Could Tenten be…No…But the report said that the child the family had adopted was gone. I do know that there was a demon sealed somewhat near the same time, the eight-tails. If that's the case then Tenten is…' _Gaara's eyes widened considerably.

"What is the problem Kazekage?" Tsunade asked.

He leaned on the table, "I have reason to believe that Tenten may be the container of the eight-tails that plagued the Wind country for a period of time."

"If that is the case, then we definitely have a problem."

* * *

The first stop for the day was at the movie cinemas. After a careful debate and the help of tossing a coin, they decided to watch a romantic comedy called The Holiday**(4)**. During the movie, Tenten thought of the irony of this, _'That sounds familiar'_ she chuckled inwardly. 

'**I agree with that, I mean we have four people, two who are siblings, brother and sister to be exact.'**

'_They resemble Hinata and Neji and the other girl and boy represent me and Naruto.'_

'**Just switch Hinata with you and you have the basic story.'**

The rest of the movie went by normally with Kaku and Cai zhi making a few comments here and there.

By the time they left the theatre, it was getting dark. Neji and Tenten talked about the movie, with Neji mostly listening until reaching Ichiraku's.

"I'll have pork ramen," Tenten ordered, "Neji, what do you want?"

"I'll go for beef ramen,"

It wasn't long before their ramen arrived. Muttering a small prayer of thanks, they ate their ramen silently. When they finished, they split the bill (Tenten insisted she pay at least a bit) and strolled through the park until reaching a hill. The two sat down, watching the bright stars reflect over the lake nearby.

'**How romantic!' **Cai zhi swooned, while mentally cheering for the fact that Neji's hand was over Tenten's. Said kunoichi agreed with her.

When the moon was high overhead, they walked home together, as they lived on the same street. Once they arrived at Tenten's house, she turned towards Neji, "I had a lot of fun with you today. I hope we can do it again soon." With that, she kissed him quickly and went inside. She ran to her room in the small apartment where she lived and buried her beet red face into a pillow.

'**I can't believe you did that!' **the demon was jumping for joy, **'I'm so proud of you!' **she looked like she was going to cry in happiness.

'_I don't know what came over me. I just…' _Tenten turned an even deeper shade of red.

'**Did you see his face? If he didn't like it or something he would have moved away. Neji probably likes you too!' **

At that moment, the mentioned boy was staring at the ceiling of his room, his face was tinged with red still. **'Wow, way to go kid!' **Kaku cheered.He eventually fell asleep with a silly grin plastered on his face.

* * *

A/N: Finally! I just never found the time to work on this. If you ask me, some of the scenes are kind of 'ish' but it's overall okay. Now for some other bit's of information needed for this: 

**(1):**Those are the symbols on each Akatsuki ring, each with a different meaning (zero, azure dragon, white tiger, vermilion bird, black tortoise, void, Sagittarius, the Big Dipper, "three levels" and the virgin

**(2): **In this story, demons can talk to each other when they want to.

**(3):** Riko has royal blue hair that goes to mid-back with a flower in it.Her eyes resemble a cat's and are usually steel grey but change with her mood.

**(4): **I saw this movie and actually thought about this. It's about two different women who switch locations and fall in love with two guys, one of them being the other woman's brother. It's really sweet for those who haven't watched it before.

Thanks to reviewers:

tru-viet

Mizu-Kaze Hana

sailormarsfire93

10xpandax10

nefaith

Azekah

Phoenix Hollowell

Dreaming101

Saturn-fox

One more thing, I'm trying to think of a new title for this story, anybody with any ideas should send an e-mail to me.


	12. Chapter 10: Observations

A/N: I'm extremely sorry for this late update!

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. At least that hasn't changed in my absence.

'**Kaku'-**inner selves, demons etc.

'_Kaku'-_ thoughts

* * *

**Chapter 10: Observations**

It was still dark outside when three cloaked figures approached the main gate of the Hidden Village in the Leaf. A fourth made several handsigns just before the line of trees broke off onto the main road. Placing her palm onto the ground, there was a 'poof' of smoke and a small feline appeared before her. On it's back was a small tanto that seemed to belong to it. Without a second thought, the cat bounded off ahead of the others and towards the two guards stationed at the front.

The Konoha Chuunin watched the approaching creature with mild curiosity. The pair silently looked at each other in confusion before turning to look at where the strange cat was, or had been. The shinobi shrugged it off, thinking that it could not cause any harm to let it go by.

A few minutes later, one of the guards collapsed with something lodged in the lower part of his back. The cat from earlier sat innocently on top of the Chuunin and pulled out the tanto with it's mouth. "What the-?" His cry of alarm fell on deaf ears as the seemingly normal beast came at him with surprising agility. The guard prepared to defend himself when the cat diverted to the side and disappeared from sight again. He looked around in a panic before also being attacked from behind. With a disapproved look, the cat retrieved the weapon and dashed of to the side of it's summoner.

Riko muttered a word of thanks before releasing the summon and faced her other companions. "Let's get going before the rest of them come."

"I still have no idea why you went through all that when we could have done that in half the time." Zetsu remarked mildly as they infiltrated Konoha. **"I could have eaten them too. What a waste…"**

Steely eyes flashed a scarlet colour before reverting back to normal. "You should know by now that your styles of attacking would be recognized in a heartbeat. It is much easier to have them attacked by a summon and have no trace of who it could be than have them report that the Akatsuki came by. If you want to blow the mission, so be it. However if you think I would let you go without a scratch, you are sorely mistaken."

'_Scary woman...'_The men thought to themselves as the only female went ahead of them towards the west side of the village. Zetsu sunk beneath the ground and went in the other direction to the Hyuga compound. The remaining shinobi both disappeared in search of a certain Uzumaki.

* * *

The fifth Hokage downed another bottle of sake as she reflected over the information that the Kazekage had given her only a few hours ago. She was still in the office, surrounded by mountains of paperwork that she had finished on Shizune's insistence. Tsunade stifled a yawn and stretched her stiff limbs. "I'll finish the rest later…" Just as she was about to fall asleep on her desk, someone barged into the office and startled her. It was a nurse who worked the night-shift at the hospital.

"Hokage-sama! The guards from the main gate were just brought to the hospital a few minutes ago!" That was all it took for Tsunade to regain her energy and she dashed off towards the building.

"What on earth happened?" The famed medic-nin stormed through the bright halls and into the room where a small team were working on the two injured Chuunin. One was still unconscious, while the other one was just waking up from the Hokage's entrance.

The shinobi was lying down on his stomach as the doctors mended the tendons that were shredded and torn. "I couldn't believe it, this odd looking cat walked right by us and then…" As he talked, a skeptical look came from Tsunade. Two newly ranked Chuunin on a guard watch outdone by a feline was absurd.

A sigh escaped the Hokage's lips as she assisted the medics. She supposed that the idea of resting would have to be put on hold for the time being.

* * *

Meanwhile, a certain Weapons Mistress tossed uncomfortably underneath her covers. No matter how hard she tried, sleep would just not come. Perhaps it was just her imagination but something did not feel right. Tenten gave up on attempting what was futile and wandered to her kitchen downstairs, making sure she did not trigger any traps. She put a kettle on her stove and searched for her favourite brand of tea. After a few minutes, she added the boiling water and allowed the coloured liquid more time to settle before taking a sip.

'_I have training at five, it won't do any good if I can't sleep.'_

'**The hours that you use for training are brutal. You should shorten them a bit and have more fun with your life.' **Cai zhi pointed out.

'_With a cell with a sensei always talking about the wonders of 'youth' is that possible?' _Tenten thought dryly, savouring the sweet taste of the tea. She smiled as she remembered the last time she had missed training without the others knowing. It had been a very chaotic moment with Team Gai indeed.

'**Touch****é'**

The conversation died out quickly as she kept to her own thoughts. After finishing her drink, the Weapons Mistress washed out the cup and went back upstairs in another attempt to sleep. Neither the container nor the demon noticed the lone figure watching the kunoichi carefully from the shadows of her home.

_'Perhaps this mission will be easier than I thought.'_

* * *

A/N: A grateful thanks to those who waited for this for so long and one for those who reviewed: 

**Nejitenfan**

**SnowCharms**

**me-is-to-lazy-to-sign-in**

**SerenityWeapoms**

**GeishaBabe192**

**Dreaming101**

**Nefaith**

**Tru-Viet**

**Aoiro Kuma**

Also one for **x BlackMoonRose x **for reminding me about updating as well as reviewing.


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